Twenty-eight beneficiaries of the Shell Nigeria LiveWIRE programme are now retooling to get a good share of the $800,000 growth fund for 2017 provided by Grofin Investment.
Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli.
Grofin is a business development financier supporting viable, growth-oriented small enterprises in the Niger Delta through the Aspire Small Business Funds (ASBF) supported by The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).
To brighten their chances of securing sufficient financial support from Grofin and other lending institutions, SPDC has completed a one-day Business Scale-up and Linkage workshop for the beneficiaries drawn from Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States.
“This is part of the mentoring element of Shell LiveWIRE. Our aim is to continuously contribute to creating sustainable employment, economic growth and social development through the provision of business development assistance to youths particularly in the Niger Delta,” said SPDC General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli.
Speaking at the workshop, SPDC Social Performance/Social Investment Manager, Gloria Udoh, charged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the mentoring and linkage opportunities to move their enterprises to higher levels.
“This is an opportunity to sharpen your presentation, marketing and business relationship skills; understand how to grow your business; and learn how to make a successful pitch to access the Grofin SME loans and other business support facilities,” she said.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Stella Nnaji described the workshop as “filled with so much energy, motivation and opportunities”. She expressed gratitude to SPDC and its joint venture partners for the LiveWIRE programme which she said was making a world of difference in the growth of small and medium scale businesses in the Niger Delta.
The Shell LiveWIRE is a flagship enterprise development programme designed to help young people explore the option of starting their own business as a real and viable career option. It provides training, finance, and business mentorship for young entrepreneurs.
It was launched in Nigeria in 2003 has produced thousands of Niger Delta entrepreneurs most of whom are now employers of labour. Some of the beneficiaries are also given the opportunity to play in SPDC’s supply chain as vendors and are provided with access to growth capital.
Flooding and mudslides in Mocoa, Colombia, sent torrents of water and debris crashing onto houses in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing 254 people, injuring hundreds and sending terrified residents, some in their pyjamas, scrambling to evacuate.
Rescue effort following the Columbia landslide
Heavy rains caused several rivers to overflow, pushing sediment and rocks on to buildings and roads in the capital of southwestern Putumayo province and immobilising cars in several feet of mud.
“It was a torrential rainstorm, it got really strong between 11pm and 1am,” said local resident Mario Usale, 42, who was looking for his father-in-law in the debris. “My mother-in-law was also missing, but we found her alive two kilometers away. She has head injuries, but she was conscious.”
President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, flew to Mocoa, which has a population 345,000, to oversee rescue efforts on the city outskirts and speak with affected families. “We will do everything possible to help them,” Santos said after confirming the death toll. “It breaks my heart.”
The army said in a statement that 254 people were killed, 400 people had been injured and 200 were missing. More than 1,100 soldiers and police officers were called in to help dig people out in 17 affected neighborhoods.
Even in a country where heavy rains, a mountainous landscape and informal construction of homes combine to make mud and landslides a common occurrence, the scale of the Mocoa disaster was daunting compared to recent tragedies, such as a 2015 landslide that killed nearly 80 people in Salgar, Antioquia.
Colombia’s deadliest landslide, the 1985 Armero disaster, left more than 20,000 dead. “It’s a big area,” Mocoa mayor José Antonio Castro, who lost his house, told Caracol radio on Saturday. “A big portion of the many houses were just taken by the avalanche.”
He said people were warned ahead of time and many were able to get out, but several streets and two bridges had been destroyed.
Weather authorities said light rains were expected in the area on Saturday night and Sunday.
Photos posted on Twitter by the air force showed streets filled with mud and damaged houses, while videos on social media showed residents searching for survivors in the debris and struggling to move through waist-high water during the night.
“We have sent a team of 150 people to make our response effective and machinery began work immediately,” Carlos Ivan Marquez, head of the response unit, said in a statement. “We will be with the governor and the mayor giving all necessary attention.”
Early on Saturday evening, Santos declared a state of emergency in the city, to allow rescue operations to be mobilised in the region. “We will do everything possible to help them,” he said. “It breaks my heart.”
More than 1,100 soldiers and police officers have been called in to find and rescue survivors. Hundreds remain unaccounted for.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has agreed the outlines of two new reports that will help governments understand the impact climate change is having on human activities and nature on land and sea and how human activity in these areas is affecting climate change.
IPCC Vice-Chair, Youba Sokona, who chaired the scientific steering committee for the scoping meeting that drafted the outline of the Climate Change and Land. Photo credit: twitter.com
The decision was taken at the 45th Session of the IPCC, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, from March 28 to 31, 2017.
The Panel approved the outlines of the “Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate”, and “Climate Change and Land: an IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems”, both to be finalised in September 2019.
The decision on the outlines, or tables of contents, which had been drafted by scoping meetings in December and February, clears the way for the IPCC to launch the call for nominations for authors for both reports in early April.
“This outcome combines the best scientific expertise available along with policymakers’ requirements to help advance our knowledge of how climate change affects the oceans and cryosphere. The IPCC looks forward to working with experts from around the world on this important topic that impacts billions of people, from the high mountains and polar regions to the coasts,” said IPCC Vice-Chair, Ko Barrett, who chaired the scientific steering committee for the scoping meeting that drafted the outline of the Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate.
The cryosphere – from the Greek kryos meaning cold or ice – is a word to collectively designate the areas of the Earth where water is found in its solid state. This includes ice sheets, frozen lakes and rivers, regions covered by snow, glaciers, and frozen soil.
“This report will address some of the key issues that countries are grappling with in responding to climate change: how to sustain the ability of our land resources to sustain our societies in the face of a changing climate, and how emissions from the land sector can be reduced without jeopardising other development goals,” said IPCC Vice-Chair Youba Sokona, who chaired the scientific steering committee for the scoping meeting that drafted the outline of the Climate Change and Land.
“The report will look in detail at desertification, land degradation and food security, but will also assess options for integrated responses that support sustainable development and respond effectively to climate change,” he added.
The IPCC is the world body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly, to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation.
At its 41st Session in February 2015, the IPCC decided to produce a Sixth Assessment Report (AR6). At its 42nd Session in October 2015, it elected a new Bureau that would oversee the work on this report and Special Reports to be produced in the assessment cycle. At its 43rd Session in April 2016, it decided to produce three Special Reports, a Methodology Report to update guidelines on national greenhouse gas inventories and the AR6.
At its session in Guadalajara in March 2017, the IPCC considered the outlines of the Special Report on climate change and oceans and the cryosphere, and the Special Report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. The two special reports are expected to be finalised in September 2019.
In September 2018 the IPCC will also finalise “Global warming of 1.5°C, an IPCC special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty (SR15)”, and the “2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories “
The Catholic Church in Nigeria on Sunday, April 2, 2017 confirmed the death of Rev. Sister Christiana Umeadi, its Health Coordinator, in an auto crash.
Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole.
A statement signed by Rev. Fr. Christian Anyanwu, the Director of Communications, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, in Abuja, said Umeadi, until her death, was a member of the Sokoto Diocese.
Anyanwu said Sister Umeadi, who was returning to her station after participating in mass cerebrospinal meningitis immunisation, was involved in an auto crash at Bakura in Zamfara State.
He said the medical team had covered several parts of Sokoto Diocese for the immunisation in the last one month and that, as the outbreak worsened; the health team intensified its effort.
The states they covered, he said, include Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara and Kebbi.
Anyanwu explained that Sister Umeadi led her team to Zamfara State for the immunisation exercise in March, where they were billed to spend just a day in Gusau town.
Anyanwu noted that her remains had since been deposited in the morgue at the Usmanu DanFodio Teaching Hospital, Sokoto.
He said that her immediate family, the Dominican Congregation, the Diocese of Sokoto and all her patients, were left in utter shock and disbelief.
“We all resign to the will of God and trusting that our Sister will rise again at the resurrection,” he said.
Until her death Sister Umeadi was the Assistant Prioress General of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, Gusau, and Zamfara State.
The church has yet to announce a date for her burial.
Health officials reported over 100 cases of cerebrospinal meningitis in Sokoto State with five deaths.
No fewer than 80 people have lost their lives to meningitis in Zamfara State in the last two months, the state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Suleiman Gummi, has said.
Meningitis had earlier killed at least three students in a Secondary School in Maradun Local Government Area of the state.
Severe heat occasioned by intense solar radiation and living in congested apartments are part of what medical experts believe are causing meningitis.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, has assured Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Health under his purview would nip in the bud the outbreak of meningitis ravaging some states.
Adewole said the Federal Government has the capability to curtail the disease.
He spoke in an advisory issued late on Friday as the death toll from the disease from November 2016 till date rose to 328.
Last week, the National Centre for Disease Control had put the death toll at 282.
Adewole, who spoke extensively on the development in the advisory, said: “We have started working with all the affected states in specific areas of collaboration on massive awareness and sensitisation, laboratory investigation and analysis, proper documentation and disease surveillance techniques through the National Centre for Disease Control and National Primary Health Care Development Authority (NPHCDA) who have been of tremendous support since the outbreak. We are in constant discussion with World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF, E-health Africa and other international health agencies for supplies of vaccines and injections.
“Through our initiatives, we have secured 500,000 doses of the meningococcal vaccines from WHO which will be used in Zamfara and Katsina states while additional 800,000 units from the British government .By next Tuesday, there will be a meeting with the International Review Group of The World Health Organisation (WHO) where request for additional vaccines shall be approved, as part of practical and medically certified efforts to stem this ugly incidence.
“Even with the tunnels of accomplishment made, we are not relenting on all the progress made, as we have been assured of millions of vaccine doses through other notable and international donor agencies. Unfortunately, Nigeria had always been bedevilled with the stereotype A in years past but this new strain of the bacterial disease, Meningitis Stereotype C which the vaccine is not commercially available in required quantities and can only be shipped to the country by WHO only if laboratory investigation confirms the existence of the strain type C.
“Our ongoing spirited effort is geared to upscale through nationwide immunisation campaign while navigating the menace using a combination vaccine by conducting active case finding, strengthening surveillance, case detection, verification and communication management, performing lumbar puncture of suspect cases in a well coordinated atmosphere under NCDC. Our partners are already re-training physicians on the effective collection of cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis.
“We are equally advocating for prompt diagnosis and have issued directive to all Federal medical facilities and PHCs to treat all cases of meningitis free of charge. All Nigerians especially residents of Katsina, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger, Zamfara and Jigawa states are advised to seek early attention when discomforted with symptoms of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM) and avoid clogging together in unventilated and over-crowded rooms.”
Friday, March 31 2017 saw the opening of a Regional Collaboration Centre in Panama City, to be operated by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat in partnership with the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF). The centre will strengthen support given to countries in Latin America to help them with the implementation of the Paris Climate Change Agreement and has moved to Panama City from its previous location in Bogota.
Vice President of the Republic of Panama, Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado
With Panama City being a major regional hub for the United Nations and other developmental agencies, the centre is expected to be a key player in catalysing, supporting and leveraging climate action at the regional and national level while continuing to focus on work related to sustainable development through the UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The Regional Collaboration Centre has opened in conjunction with the new International Center for the Implementation of REDD+ (ICIREDD+), an international centre for the achievement of emission reductions through the avoidance of deforestation and soil degradation.
Isabel de Saint Malo, Vice-President and Chancellor of the Republic of Panama said of the opening: “The ICIREDD+ and RCC Panama are key elements in the successful roadmap to prevent temperature to increase beyond two degrees Celsius, to facilitate international cooperation and the investment flows that our country needs to transform its development model into one that values the natural resources and ecosystem services that make life possible.”
“I am delighted to celebrate the opening of RCC Panama,” said UNFCCC top official Patricia Espinosa. “The Regional Collaboration Centre is a key to unlocking opportunity as we transform growth to low-emission models, build societies resilient to climate impacts and achieve truly sustainable development. Here in Latin America, collaboration through the RCC programme has advanced hundreds of projects and helped countries gain in-depth technical knowledge, understand their emissions profile and take on-the-ground action towards their contributions to the Paris Agreement.”
Mirei Endara, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Panama, stated: “The centres we inaugurate today, ICIREDD+ and RCC Panama for Latin America, are a fundamental part of the international effort to tackle climate change, because they help catalyse local, national and regional action for an effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.”
Susana Pinilla, Director Representative of CAF in Panama, said: “Through our collaboration with the UNFCCC secretariat we will provide jointly technical support of the highest standard to the countries of the region to help them navigate the complex financial architecture for climate change and the Convention mechanisms, and to support them to be at the forefront of the use and development of new climate finance instruments.”
The UNFCCC secretariat has established a number of RCCs over the last four years in collaboration with regional organisations. The first centre in Lomé, Togo, seeks to serve West and Francophone Africa on the ground, while the second in Kampala, Uganda, assists the rest of Africa. A third was established in Saint George’s, Grenada, to cover the Caribbean region, and a fourth was set up in Bogota, Colombia, in Latin America. The most recent centre was opened in Bangkok, Thailand, to serve the Asia-Pacific region.
RCCs aim to catalyse climate action on the ground, with the view to working towards implementing the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Moving the RCC to Panama City will allow for a greater efficiency towards these goals, as it will be joining and contributing to a larger network of development agencies also working on climate change issues.
Since its inception in 2013, RCC Bogota has successfully assisted countries in various ways, including, for example, by facilitating matchmaking on the ground between donor countries and project developers seeking funding, developing climate policies and supporting 210 CDM projects in the region with a view to achieving climate mitigation, sustainable development and other co-benefits.
Gradually, the RCC broadened its scope and provided more services to its region. After the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the RCC took the initiative to gather experts and launch a dialogue on the implementation of the agreement which resulted in a report focused on the specific needs of Latin American countries.
For centuries, cities have been at the heart of the arts and culture, thriving businesses, and innovative ideas. Over 90 percent of urban areas are coastal, which means that most cities on the planet are extremely vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis as sea levels rise, polar ice melts, and powerful storms sweep across these regions.
Sustainable city: Copenhagen, Denmark
The sheer number of people who live in cities now and who are expected to move into them in the coming years is startling. Around two-thirds of the world’s population is predicted to live in an urban area by 2050, which means there are also major financial implications when extreme weather like unexpected storms and flooding cause disruptions in businesses and governments.
The good news is that while cities are particularly at risk from the climate crisis, they are also behind some of the most powerful solutions. That’s why we’re taking a look at five of our favorite sustainable cities in the world and the steps they’ve taken to become leaders in clean energy and climate solutions.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen is often ranked as one of the greenest cities on the planet. Why? For starters, in 2009 the city set a goal to become the world’s first carbon neutral capital by 2025 as part of its CPH 2025 Climate Plan. Copenhagen has focused on reducing energy consumption in a variety of ways, including using an energy-efficient district heating system that connects to nearly every household and innovative cooling systems that save around 70 percent of the energy compared to traditional air conditioning.
Copenhagen has also focused on reducing emissions and improving the health of its residents by improving mobility, integrating transport, and building what’s known as a super cycle highways. Super cycle highways and other bike lanes around the city have led to 45 percent of the city’s residents commuting by bike every day.
San Francisco, California
It’s no secret that San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area are a serious tech-hub and home to some of the most innovative companies in the world, including Salesforce, Airbnb, Uber, and Twitter. Innovations in technologies to improve energy efficiency in buildings and enhance its transportation system have helped make San Francisco a leader in sustainability and clean energy. Just look at the city’s public transit system: it’s not uncommon to see hybrid-electric buses driving down the city’s streets and more than half of all MUNI buses and light rails are zero-emission.
The Bay Area has also cut its water consumption drastically in recent years. As California has battled serious droughts, San Franciscans have reduced their water consumption to around 49 gallons of water per day on average (the national average is 80-100 gallons per day).These conservation tactics and other advances in sustainable food, recycling, and composting are expected to help San Francisco reach its goal of becoming zero waste by 2020.
Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver has been on the forefront of environmental activism for decades. In 1990, it became one of the first North American cities to outwardly address the climate crisis by releasing a report called “The Clouds of Change.” This was just the beginning of an environmental strategy that Vancouver released years later in 2012, the Greenest City Action Plan, which set 10 goals to achieve by 2020, including increasing green jobs, reducing community-based greenhouse gas emissions, and expanding green buildings around the city.
Additionally, Vancouver has committed to getting 100 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2050. This goal is particularly bold given that it targets all forms of energy in the city – including heating, cooling, and transport – not just electricity. The city’s focus on clean energy and sustainability has led it to have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per person of any major North American city. Between making sustainable improvements to neighborhoods’ energy consumption, striving for zero waste, and continuing to develop its successful Greenest City Action Plan, Vancouver has set the stage for businesses and residents to work together to be one of the greenest and most climate change resilient cities on Earth.
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm is a growing city that seeks to be an attractive home for newcomers and do good for the planet at the same time. Awarded the first “European Green Capital” recognition by the European Commission in 2010, Stockholm aims to be fossil-fuel free by 2050.
How does the city plan to reach this goal? One component is Sweden’s shift from oil to “district” heating, which means the nation now uses heat from centralised sources (such as a power station) to more efficiently heat and cool its buildings. District heating alone accounts for over 80 percent of heating and hot water in apartments today, and is one of the key factors in how Sweden has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.
Another reason for Stockholm’s success with sustainable living is its residents, who pride themselves on being “climate-smart.” Eight out of 10 residents feel the city should urge citizens to live more environmentally-friendly and believe being climate-smart should be a natural part of living in a city (we do too!).
Singapore
With a population of more than five million people, Singapore is often recognised as one of the most forward-thinking green cities in Asia. The city-state has developed a Sustainable Development Blueprint, which outlines sustainability goals leading up to 2030. The targets include improving energy efficiency by 35 percent, ensuring 80 percent of its buildings are certified green, and having 80 percent of households be within a 10-minute walk to a train station.
Singapore has also improved its sustainability by making drastic changes in transportation. The city-state limits car ownership among its residents and has built effective public transportation systems, which has helped reduce pollution and crowding on streets and highways. Singapore’s public transit system helps residents navigate the city, along with biking and walking.
These are just five examples of cities that have become leaders in clean energy and sustainable development. To learn more about additional sustainable cities and how they’re working toward solutions to the climate crisis, download the Cities100 guide here . The Cities100 guide shares 100 solutions from 61 cities in 10 different sectors, ranging from clean energy to transportation to social equity and more.
H&M, IKEA, Filippa K and 20 other Nordic brands are said to have saved more than 6.7 billion litres of water, or the daily water supply of one for 134 million people, in less than seven years.
A textile factory
Under the guidance of the Sweden Textile Water Initiative (STWI), a programme driving global change towards sustainable textile and leather production, the factories have reduced water consumption and pollution while also improving their profits. Since joining the programme, participating factories have seen a return on investment of more than 240 percent over three years.
“We would not have been able to accomplish these amazing results on our own. Much of our success is due to the motivation of our suppliers and the support of STWI,” said Elin Larsson, Sustainability Director for Filippa K.
STWI started as a pilot project in 2010, and has been fully operational since 2013. In 2016, the initiative expanded from 72 to 119 factories in India, China, Bangladesh, Turkey and Ethiopia. In 2017, STWI plans to expand to Hong Kong, Myanmar, Pakistan, Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam.
“STWI is a model for the entire manufacturing industry. By working closely with partners and their suppliers we have demonstrated that environmental sustainability is good business,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, STWI programme manager.
“We are motivated by the continued success of the programme and will continue to empower sustainability champions who believe in our vision of driving collaborative global change towards sustainable practices,” added Abdel Rahman.
“We are trying to encourage improvements that save water and energy and reduce the use of chemicals in all components of the production chain. This project shows that these goals can be achieved, even with increased profitability. We hope the market can learn from these positive experiences,” said Mats Åberg, programme manager with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
In 2010, major Swedish textile and leather brands and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), with the collaboration and financial support of Sida, launched the Sweden Textile Water Initiative (STWI). The initiative aimed to gain a better understanding of the water challenges faced by the textile industry and finding the right mechanisms to address them.
Argentine legend, Diego Maradona has denied ordering Lionel Messi’s four-match ban by FIFA over hefty suspension for outburst.
Diego Maradona
He told newsmen that it hurts him when they say he had an influence in Messi getting suspended for four matches. “I swore to God l knew nothing.”
“I’m going to speak to FIFA president Gianni Infantino because it’s terrible. Those who say I had something to do with Messi’s suspension were part of Marcello Tinelli’s group of people,” he explained.
Maradona then goes on to compare Messi’s alleged outburst with Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt of Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final. He insists that Argentina making their way to Russia 2018 is now a serious doubt, as Messi’s ban has thrown the country’s hope of reaching the World Cup into disarray.
Lionel Messi was accused of saying to an assistant Referee “fxxx off, your mother’s a Cxxx.”
He, however, denied verbally abusing the official and claimed he swore “to the air.”
He was said to have insulted the official during the match Argentina and Chile on March 23, 2017 as part of the qualifying competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
As a result, Messi was suspended for four official matches and sanctioned with a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs.
The first match was between Argentina and Bolivia, played on March 28. The remainder of the sanction will be served over Argentina’s subsequent FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
Paul Hamilton, who played for the senior national team in the 1960s and early 1970s, including featuring in the football tournament at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, died in the early hours of Thursday, March 30, 2017 in Lagos.
Paul Hamilton
He was said to have been diagnosed of heart and kidney related health issues some months ago, and had his right leg amputated early this year.
Nicknamed “Wonderboy” for his delicate skills and on-field wizardry, Hamilton was at a few times head coach of the senior national team, including taking the the reins for the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying series, before Dutchman Clemens Westerhof took over with only the last match of the campaign (away to Cameroon in Yaounde) left in the series.
He was also head coach of Nigeria’ U-20 squad that took the bronze medal at the FIFA World Youth Championship (now known as FIFA U-20 World Cup) in the Soviet Union in 1985.
“Wonderboy”, was also the first head coach of the senior women national team, Super Falcons, steered the team to the 1991 and 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup final competitions.
He was also at different times Head of Technical Department and Head of Lagos Liaison office of the Nigeria Football Federation.
President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked the Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alhaji Muhammed Sani-Sidi. A replacement was immediately announced for him.
Former Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi Photo credit: elombah.com
This information and appointment of executive management for some other Federal Government agencies and parastatals were contained in a statement issued by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, on Friday, March 31 2017.
Adesina said Sani-Sidi is to be replaced by Mustapha Yunusa Maihaja, an engineer.
According to available information, Sani-Sidi’s tenure should have ended in 2018.
The NEMA Board is now to be chaired by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN). Other members of the NEMA Board are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, David Babachir Lawal; Captain Talba Alkali, representing Ministry of Transport and Aviation; Ambassador Rabiu Dagari, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Ngozi Azadoh, Ministry of Health; Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido, Ministry of Interior; Ajisegiri Benson Akinloye, Ministry of Water Resources; Air Vice Marshal Emmanuel Anebi, Nigerian Armed Forces; and Assistant Inspector General of Police Salisu Fagge Abdullahi, Nigerian Police Force.
Buhari also approved appointments into the executive management of some government agencies and parastatals.
The new chairman of the board of the Nigerian Television Authority is former newspaper editor and ex-presidential spokesman, Chief Duro Onabule.
Other executive directors of the NTA include: Dr. Steve Egbo, Administration and Training; Abdul Hamid Salihu Dembos, Marketing; Mohammed Labbo, News; Fatima M. Barda, Finance; Stephen Okoanachi, Engineering; and Wole Coker, Programmes.
At the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Aliyu Hayatu is the new chairman, while Buhari Auwalu and Yinka Amosun, are Zonal Directors for Kaduna and Lagos respectively.
Under the Ministry of Information and Culture, the Nigerian Film Corporation has Dr. Chika Maduekwe as General Manager; National Theatre and National Troupe of Nigeria, Comrade Tar Ukoh, Artistic Director; National Council for Arts and Culture, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Director-General; and National Film and Video Censors Board, Folorunsho Coker, Director-General.
